Sacred Knights
The Sacred Knights are the military arm of the Church of the Gods, protecting the faithful in Uray from the degradations of the Cynthraul and other threats. The Sacred Knights of the local chapter will report to their Marshall who will report to the High Marshall in the Capital of Uray. Sacred Knights draw their faith and Sacred Power from the five gods that make up the War Gods of the Pantheon of the Gods, the Gods Flud, Gaizen, Elaedac, Daros, and Caendr. Similar to priests of the faith they strive to improve themselves based on the God they have chosen. The fighting styles and ideals that the Gods represent alter the battle styles of the Sacred Knights, improving them along the way. The Knights are weapons of the Gods according to them, and this does show in their training. Every Sacred Knight is taught to keep a calm mind while in battle and can often fall back upon this state at a moment's notice, this helps keep their emotions in check so they can channel their powers more easily and hear the voice of their God clearer. When inducted into the order, commonly at the age of 12 as a squire, the training happens every day in addition to studies of the history of the order and lessons of the God they have chosen. When not training or studying most Squires spend their time in meditation to focus on their connection with the gods. By the Age of 14 they have earned their armor and unlocked the start of their understanding of the Sacred Power. Sacred Knights tend to bond closely with their fellow Knights, seeing them as Brothers and Sisters in the faith, able to understand the struggles and trials each Sacred Knight undergoes. This is especially apparent in dealing with some of the horrors the lands outside of the shield mountains hold. Every promotion of the Sacred Knights tend to have the majority of those who can attend show up in support of the person getting promoted. This is considered even a bigger celebration when the squires become initiates and the majority of the Sacred Knights attending end up rip roaring drunk. The aura and powers granted by the Gods to the Sacred Knights quickly get rid of poisons in their systems so they have to drink large amounts of Alcohol in order to get probably drunk. In Valmasia the Sacred Knights have to set up their own stills in order for the amount they need, since most bars in Valmasia know not to serve Sacred Knights if they wish to keep their cellars full. In Uray the Sacred Knights will help guard towns and the holy sites of the church, in addition to manning the great fortresses that guard the shield Mountains of Uray. While they are not a true police force, leaving that to the local watch and the priests of Daros and Elaedac, the Sacred Knights will step in to help out if they see it happening in front of them. Another important duty is to help escort the pilgrims of the roads, it is not uncommon for pairs or small groups to roam the roads helping travelers and pilgrims on their way. This also helps the Sacred Knights to keep an eye out of Cynthrul activity. When not pursuing those duties or helping those in need, a Sacred Knight will typically be training in their barracks or Fortress Monasteries that dot the land, meditating in the temples, or simply enjoying the company of their fellow sacred knights, friends, family, or more rarely alone. The blessings of the Gods reflect their purpose in the world. Their aura which is always at a dim glow is just the visual signs of a Sacred Knight, although they can repress this aura if the needs arise. The aura itself seems to move with a mind of its own, radiating from the Sacred Knight, this does help keep the sacred power in his equipment full. The aura can harden itself briefly to blunt impacts against the armor and help heal the Sacred Knight when they focus on that task. Even without focusing on healing the aura will slowly heal wounds on a Sacred Knight, a paper cut would vanish in minutes while a severe gash will close on its own in about a week or two. This helps when most of the Sacred Power needs to go into battle or healing more critically wounded people first. A Sacred Knight is protected from depravity and occult magic by the blessings of the gods. This keeps them from being corrupted by the Cynthrul when they fight them. In Valmasia this has also helped them from being corrupted by Sin Magic, although in this case it is not a perfect protection. When marching to battle chants and hymns in praise of the Gods are typically on all knights lips. Each knights aura will also be moderately charged so the glow of the Sacred Knights in battle can be seen easily, this light often can become blinding when they fully charge into battle. The typical weapon most Sacred Knights use is a Glaive, this helps to keep some distance between approaching foes and can act as a spear, staff, and hacking blade all in one. Some Sacred Knights also have maces to help them crack more heavily armored foes such as when a Cynthrul gives itself a heavily armored exoskeleton. Officers may wear a rapier in town as quick stabs can easily incapacitate a foe without killing them and can be deadly. Rare among the knights is the use of a Great sword, this is typically wielded by a follower of Gaizen or those hailing from a highland clan, if they don't use their glaive. All Sacred Knights wear the standard armor of the order. A mixture of robes and armor, the armor is forged out of Blessed steel by the Priests of Eraer. The armor itself helps a Sacred Knight increase their power with the Sacred power, although the blessings do require recharging by the aura around the sacred knight, this is done naturally every time it is worn, with time the blessings will eventually lose their potency and go dormant until they are recharged with sacred power. Often in cases like that they are also reblessed by a Priest of Eraer but it is not needed. All Sacred Knights wear the same style of armor and will wear it exclusively for the majority of their career and during formal occasions. This helps signify their place as weapons of the gods. Marshalls are the only ones who will wear armor that is slightly different, if only in the case that it has more blessings inscribed by high priests of Eraer making them more potent. In battle the Sacred Knights will open with blasts of Sacred Light and Sacred Energy. Those who have more advanced control of their sacred power often bring one of the Sacred Elements into play. After the blasts happen the Sacred Knights will continue to march towards the foe chanting all the while, blasts of Sacred Power continue to come from their lines as they advance. If the foe is charging then they will set their glaives, otherwise they will continue their advance till they meet their foe. Charging enemies will often find the ground they advance upon is a whirlwind of Sacred power, felling many of the lesser foes in the onslaught. Most foes don't fare much better when in melee range as the Blessings and Miracles of the Sacred Knights do not harm the faithful when not asked to, letting a normally dangerous spell go off right in the middle of the ranks, harming only those that oppose the Sacred Knights. The Sacred Knights in Valmasia are extremely limited in number, their numbers highly decimated by the loss of the Valley and the Death of Saint Alpheral. The Sacred Knights typically will have one or two members per temple or shrine in Valmasia, but as the faith is still not widely practiced these shrines are typically only number a few in the major towns and maybe a shrine in the smaller villages. The Sacred Knights have said that Flud is in ascendance now for them, their only goal now to protect the faithful and keep what little of the Urayan faith is left still alive. Even if they wish to do more they know that their numbers are not able to support any protected campaigns and can only protect a few pilgrims at a time. Even worse off is the lack of available equipment that many knights suffer from despite the efforts of the Priests of Eraer. Category:Religion Category:Organization Category:Uray